May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

I recently completed The Hunger Games trilogy as my running entertainment.   The series is geared toward young adults and as a result actually reading it is fairly quick.  Since I listened to the audiobooks only during workouts, it took me about 2 months to complete the entire series.  I'll avoid spoilers as I review the series as a running companion.

I enjoyed The Hunger Games, the first book in the series, more than the others.  It was easy to get into.  It was easy to imagine myself running in Katniss's shoes as she went from place to place.  With few characters and a narrow plot line, it was fairly easy to pick up where I left off.  Even when I zoned out during runs I could get back into what was going on when I started paying attention again.  I was happy to finish The Hunger Games in time to see the movie on March 12.  Sadly,  I did overhear a few series spoilers while in line for the midnight premier.

The Hunger Games Official Trailer

Catching Fire was the worst of the three books.  I was expecting the story to really take off, but it didn't until the very end of the book.  There was also very little growth in Katniss as a character in this book.  It was quick and ok, but just not great (as often happens with the second book in a trilogy).

Mockingjay introduced many new characters.  I found it difficult to keep track of who was who as I ran listening to the book.  I did end up re-listening to some bits so this book took me a little longer than the others.  I was initially satisfied when I finished listening, but after some consideration I felt that a few of the plot points had been resolved automatically (or left open).  I would have liked to see Katniss make a few choices for herself for once in the series!

Over all, I found the series mostly easy to run to.  It was entertaining and not always predictable and having the story consistently told from Katness's point of view made it easier to imagine myself there alongside her.

After finishing the Hunger Games, I moved on to Watership Down.  Expect a review to be forthcoming.

I've asked this before, but what book recommendations do you have?  I'd love to add more to my GoodReads backlog!

Discontinued Running Shoes? Oh No!

At the beginning of April, my Brooks Defyance 4 running shoes hit 300 miles.  I checked online to order a new pair, as most running shoes are only good for up to 400 miles.  I didn't want to run a marathon on shoes nearing the end of their life, so early April was the right time to get a new pair to break in.

To my dismay, I could no longer find Brooks Defyance 4 in my size.  A bit of searching uncovered that the shoes had been discontinued.  The only thing I could do was visit JackRabbit, my local running store, to try out the Defyance 5 among other shoes.  I've mentioned before that JackRabbit lets you try out the shoes on a treadmill while being filmed.  The store associate will then play back the film in slow motion to ensure that the shoes are allowing you to run properly.

At the store, I asked for shoes that were a bit less stiff than the Defyance 4.  The associate brought out the Defyance 5 along with a few other pairs  of shoes for me to try out.  I found the Defyance 5 to be a bit too stiff.  Another pair caused my ankle to over-pronate a bit (this means that when I landed my ankle bent out).  Finally I settled on the Brooks PureFlow.  They were light weight and flexible.  Since they are so light, Brooks recommends only putting 250-300 miles on them.

I was able to get roughly 60 miles on the new shoes before the New Jersey Marathon by alternating with my old Defyance 4.  It was important to try out the new shoes on a long run before the marathon.  Long runs cause a whole world of feet issues that you'll never experience on a short run.

The shoes worked well during the race.  I did get blisters but I didn't get any new toenail damage.  I also didn't experience any knee pain during or after the race. Now I've got about 200 miles to go on them before I need to get a replacement. :)

New shoes in action during the NJ Marathon!

2012 NJ Marathon WOOOT!

I love running.  Despite this I built up tons of dread during the week leading up to the NJ Marathon.  While I was looking forward to the start and finish, I dreaded the pain I expected would come after 3 hours of running.  I knew I would be ecstatic to finish but I wasn't looking forward to the "marathon shuffle" and the accompanying muscle aches in my legs for a few days after the race.

The dread still persisted on Sunday as I got up at 4:45AM to eat breakfast and drink coffee.  After eating I dozed for an hour before getting up and making final race preparations.  Alek and I walked about a mile from our hotel to the race start.  There, we met with my parents and Emmy to wait for the start of the race.

At 8:00 we were off!  The first 10 miles of the race wound through neighborhoods.  People were out cheering in some areas while others had almost no race fans.  I met with Alek around the 9 mile mark.  He gave me a banana and asked how I was doing.  He ran half a mile with me while I ate it and told him that I was doing fine - but I hadn't yet reached the hard part!

It Starts!

My parents and Emmy were cheering at the 13 mile mark.  By now all that remained was an out and back loop.   I knew that the hardest part of the race was yet to come.  My muscles had started to ache and I feared it would only get worse.

Running an out and back course is fun.  It is motivating to see the fastletes coming in as I'm just setting out.  When I start to loop back, it's also encouraging to see that I'm far from last.

The 18th mile of the race put the runners on a boardwalk.  The change of turf felt great on the legs and the view of the ocean and beach was beautiful.  We left the boardwalk at mile 20 and moved back to streets. Even by the 20th mile I still wasn't feeling the pain that I had been dreading.  In fact, I never experienced that level of pain during the race!

At mile 25, Alek met me on the course and began to run with me for the last mile.  While my muscles were sore I gathered the strength to push hard through the finish.  Alek jumped off the course just before the finish line and I mustered the power to sprint across for a finish time of 4:36:18 for a 10:33 pace.  I beat my Philadelphia Marathon time by 25 minutes!  Full race results are here.

26.2 miles? Challenge (nearly) completed!

Crossing the finish line.

Finished and feeling good!

The NJ Marathon was a great race.  The course was flat and beautiful!  There were many port-o-johns on the course meaning a bathroom stop wouldn't cost too much time.  There were also bananas, a great alternative to gels during a marathon.  It was well organized and the finish line had cheering crowds who really helped me maintain high energy during the final stretch.  I would definitely recommend this marathon to anyone!

2012 NJ Marathon Playlist

Marathon playlists are long and require thought about what songs will get you through 26.2 in one piece.  I've practiced with this one on my 3-4 hour training runs and tweaked it each time.  I like to start out with songs that won't push me to run too hard.  About 2 hours in I move to faster songs so I can keep pace or speed up.  At the three to four hour point, it's all about power songs.  For me, these are songs that I'll belt out at karaoke. They help me to forget the pain for a few minutes.  Finally many of the songs after the four hour mark are inspirational and will help me to finish strong.

This playlist is 82 songs at 5:06, although I'm hoping to finish in well under five hours. Wish me luck!  If you'll be near Long Branch tomorrow, come cheer me on!   The race starts at 8am; you can find spectator info on the NJ marathon website.

Here I Go Again Whitesnake
Free Fallin' Tom Petty
Addicted to Love Robert Palmer
Beautiful Day U2
We Built This City Starship
Born In The USA Bruce Springsteen
Eye of the Tiger Survivor
Jessie's Girl Rick Springfield
Don't You Want Me The Human League
It's My Life Bon Jovi
Turn Off The Light Nelly Furtado
If You C Jordan Something Corporate
Bones The Killers
My Mirror Speaks Death Cab for Cutie
Love and Memories O.A.R.
Pumped Up Kicks Foster the People
Don't You (Forget About Me) Simple Minds
Sweet Talkin' Guy  The Chiffons
Jimmy Mack Martha Reeves
Tell Him The Exciters
My Boyfriend's Back The Angels
My Guy  Mary Wells
Chapel of Love  The Dixie Cups
Under the Boardwalk  The Drifters
Good Vibrations The Beach Boys
You Can Call Me Al Paul Simon
You Get What You Give New Radicals
Glad You Came The Wanted
Video Killed the Radio Star The Buggles
What I Like About You The Romantics
You Make My Dreams Daryl Hall & John Oates
Mickey Toni Basil
Girls Just Want to Have Fun Cyndi Lauper
Build Me Up Buttercup The Foundations
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go Wham!
Walking On Sunshine Katrina & The Waves
Walk Like an Egyptian The Bangles
Heaven Is a Place On Earth Belinda Carlisle
We Got the Beat Go Gos
American Girl Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
867-5309 / Jenny Tommy Tutone
Call Me Blondie
Telephone Lady GaGa & Beyoncé
Move Along The All-American Rejects
Sunglasses At Night Corey Hart
Y.M.C.A. (Single Version) Village People
Lump Presidents Of The USA
Crash the Party O.K. Go
Hot Steppa Ini Kamoze
Karma Alicia Keys
Vertigo U2
Getchoo Weezer
The Little Things Good Charlotte
Dog Days Are Over Florence + The Machine
Falls Apart Sugar Ray
Total Eclipse of the Heart Bonnie Tyler
My Own Worst Enemy Lit
Alone Heart
The Good Times Are Killing Me Modest Mouse
Under the Gun The Killers
Party Rock Anthem LMFAO
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of U2
Breaking Down Florence & The Machine
Bionic Placebo
Someone Like You (Uptempo Party Remix) DJ Kamikaze
Forget You Cee Lo Green
Cry Baby / Piece of My Heart Melissa Etheridge & Joss Stone
It's My Party Lesley Gore
Big Girls Don't Cry Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Aeroplane Red Hot Chili Peppers
This Is My Last Resort Papa Roach
Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall Coldplay
Darts Of Pleasure Franz Ferdinand
Movies Alien Ant Farm
I will survive Cake
Tubthumping Chumbawumba
We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions Queen
Flagpole Sitta Harvey Danger
Living on a Prayer Bon Jovi
Alive Pearl Jam
No Air Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
Just Feel Better Santana & Steven Tyler

2012 Rutgers Half Marathon Recap

No, it did not take me 11 days to complete the Unite Rutgers Half Marathon.  It just took me that long to find time for a blog post. =)

It was supposed to be a cool, rainy Sunday morning.  The Weather Channel had a flood warning out starting at 8AM in the New Brunswick, NJ area.  The race itself started at 8AM.   When I woke up it was merely overcast.  Despite this, I put on my raincoat and wind pants so I could be ready for the impending monsoon.

Where's Wendy?

The race wasn't quite as flat as I'd expected from the description.  It started with a few small hills but nothing quite like Sleepy Hollow.  It had some hills throughout and finished on an uphill.

By mile 3, the raincoat was making me too hot and it still wasn't even raining.  I took my coat off and carried it, hoping to run into Alek so I could easily hand it off.  At mile 5, I did just that.  

Shortly after the hand-off it started to drizzle on and off.  This worried me a bit because when I gave Alek my raincoat, he told me that it was difficult to get around and that he'd meet me at the finish.  I had to hope the rain wouldn't pick up and that I'd be fine without the coat.

Approaching the 8th mile, I saw Alek walking around the race course looking all sad (he thought he was too late to meet up with me here).  I was excited to see him there, although I still didn't need the jacket.  When I called out to him, he cheered up and ran ahead to get some photos.  After this, he caught a shuttle to the finish line where he would wait for me to complete the final 5 miles.

After this point the race went over a pedestrian bridge and then through Buccleuch Park, where Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom and littering the ground.  It was beautiful to run through.

I finished in 2:03:27 for a 9:25 average pace.  This was a new half marathon record for me!  Full results are available here.  

Just as I finished, the skies opened up.  We didn't get any finish line photos with the medal.  It is a really cool medal with color on both sides!

2012 Rutgers Half Marathon Playlist

To build up excitement for the Death Cab for Cutie concert we're attending on 4/27, I've made a DCFC themed playlist for Sunday's Rutgers Half Marathon.  DCFC's lead singer, Ben Gibbard, is also a runner!  Ben ran a full marathon in a "monsoon", and by all weather predictions it looks like I'll be doing the same for the half on Sunday.

The list is about 2:12.  I think the rain will give me motivation to run quickly!


Sleeping In The Postal Service
Monday Morning Death Cab For Cutie
Blacking Out the Friction Death Cab for Cutie
Codes And Keys Death Cab For Cutie
I Will Possess Your Heart     Death Cab for Cutie
I Ran Away Coldplay
Stay Young, Go Dancing Death Cab For Cutie
The Sound of Settling Death Cab for Cutie
Princess of China Coldplay & Rihanna
The District Sleeps Alone   The Postal Service
Mushaboom (Postal Service Remix)   Feist
Strawberry Swing Coldplay
My Mirror Speaks Death Cab for Cutie
You Are A Tourist Death Cab For Cutie
Little Bribes Death Cab for Cutie
Soul Meets Body Death Cab for Cutie
We Will Become Silhouettes The Postal Service
Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall Coldplay
Crooked Teeth     Death Cab for Cutie
I Was Once a Loyal Lover  Death Cab for Cutie
Viva La Vida Coldplay
No Sunlight Death Cab for Cutie
Such Great Heights The Postal Service
Some Boys Death Cab For Cutie
Clark Gable The Postal Service
Shiver Coldplay
Breaking Down    Florence & The Machine
Brand New Colony The Postal Service
I Was a Kaleidoscope Death Cab for Cutie
Nothing Better The Postal Service
Long Division Death Cab for Cutie
All This And Heaven Too   Florence & The Machine
Home Is A Fire    Death Cab For Cutie
A Movie Script Ending Death Cab for Cutie

2012 NYRR Colon Cancer Challenge 15k Recap

Yesterday's Colon Cancer Challenge 15k in Central Park was a fun race.  The weather was a bit cooler than ideal for me but at least it wasn't raining!  The course took 1.5 laps around Central Park.  While I train for hills and ran the super hilly Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon last weekend, Central Park presents a unique challenge in that it is almost never flat.  Despite the fact that running down hill feels easier than running up hill, you still uses your muscles differently than when you run on level ground.

Seeing Alek with his "Run All the Miles" sign at various points throughout the course made the hills a bit more manageable!

I finished in 1:25:54 with an average pace of 9:15.  What a difference a year makes!  Last year my average pace was 12:21 per mile.  I felt much better after the race this year even though my quads were a bit sore from the hills.  Its always fun to see training pay off!  You can find all of the race results on the NYRR site.  This is my first of 9 NYRR races that will qualify me for the 2013 NYC marathon.

2011

2012

The playlist I created for yesterday's race wasn't the best. It needed faster more motivating songs toward the middle and finish.